The present invention relates generally to a computer based system and method for processing and organizing building construction documents and, in particular, to an apparatus and method for searching, tracking and organizing building projects.
It is common in the building construction industry that architects or other design personnel draw up construction blueprints or plans either by hand or on a computer aided design (CAD) system. Such blueprints or working drawings include a general or primary plan drawing with supporting pages of detailed, secondary drawings supplementing and referencing the primary building drawing, i.e., floor plans, sectional views, etc., along with supporting textual specifications. The detailed drawings provide more specific information for various portions or areas of the primary plan drawing. In most areas, for bidding purposes, a single company distributes rolls of microfiche of the blueprint drawings or building plans in their entirety to interested contractors and subcontractors. Selected ones of the drawings on the microfiche are then viewed to provide information to estimate construction costs and prepare bid proposals on the work to be done. Though a contractor may be interested in only one particular portion of the building, that contractor must search through all of the plans in order locate the drawings of interest. Obviously, this type of system is inefficient and time consuming for each bidder.
It has been known in the art to input information into a computer for cost estimating analysis and reporting. Common computer systems may provide costs of material and provide reports thereof based on construction information specifically put into the computer. An example of such capability is illustrated in U.S. Pat. No. 5,189,606.
The U.S. Pat. No. 4,885,694 shows an automated building control design system. The system is computer based for substantially automating the designs of a building control system, such as pneumatic, electronic, environmental, energy management, automation, fire and security, and combinations thereof.
The U.S. Pat. No. 4,964,060 shows a building plan checking system which reviews building plans in view of required standards, such as zoning codes and regulations.
The U.S. Pat. No. 5,091,869 shows a building floor plan creating system which converts measurement data into a floor plan view.
The U.S. Pat. No. 5,111,392 shows a system for creating furniture layouts which utilizes standard furniture pieces. The finish, color and fabric can be separately determined for the furniture layout and pieces. Cost and bill of materials can be automatically produced based on the designed layout.
The U.S. Pat. No. 5,189,606 shows an integrated system for construction cost estimating, analysis and reporting of military projects based upon input parameters indicative of the type, size and location of the facility.
The U.S. Pat. No. 5,249,120 shows an automated manufacturing cost estimating system based upon the initial material and the operations to be performed.
The U.S. Pat. No. 5,255,207 shows a method for designing and detailing cabinets which allow a user to design cabinet structure by standard cabinet designs and to modify or override standard designs as desired. The program also allows the cost of the materials of the cabinets to be produced based on the design.
The U.S. Pat. No. 5,299,307 shows a method of drawing images by manipulating objects as to their size, dimension, location and positioning on the computer display.
The U.S. Pat. No. 5,319,541 shows a computer for aiding in the selection of roofing systems and generating the specifications therefor. The roofing system is selected from various design data entered by the user and the specifications are generated by applying the user entered design data to modify standard specifications.
The U.S. Pat. No. 5,526,520 shows a method for organizing and relating several documents, including graphic documents, by storing the documents in a plurality of files and identifying specific ones of the files with a particular project. The documents can be a primary document, such as a general view blueprint, and secondary documents, such as detailed drawings, textual and function files. The files are linked to one another by placing hotspots on the primary document to automatically call up the corresponding secondary document.
The prior art fails to show a system for identifying and tracking construction projects of interest to potential bidders.